A 12-year-old tiger in Rajasthan’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve was killed by villagers who suspected him of killing a 51-year-old man in Uliyana village, officials said on Sunday.

The tiger, T-86, was found dead in Ranthambore’s Uliyana village on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

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Wound marks on the face suggest it was attacked with sharp objects such as axes and hit with stones, they said, adding that an old wound on the face suggests it may have been in a fight with another tiger.

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“The deceased tiger identified as T-86 was found dead in Uliyana village of Ranthambore on Sunday afternoon. About two dozen villagers attacked him with sharp objects like axes and stones, killing him on the spot,” said an officer familiar with the matter.

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“The tiger was old and injured, probably from a collision with another tiger. A forest team was chasing him,” the officer said, adding that when they spotted him, “The tiger was not moving”.

The tiger was found in the same place where the body of the 51-year-old man was found on Saturday, the officer said. “It is possible that the villagers irritated him and in revenge he killed one of them, or he killed the man and then the villagers stoned him, which eventually led to his death his. The tiger was found at the same place where the man was killed yesterday,” he said.

The foresters sent a team to recover the tiger’s body from the spot and it will be sent for autopsy.

The deceased, Bharat Lal Meena, was herding goats when the tiger attacked him, killing him on the spot, Kotwali SHO Rajveer Singh said on Saturday.

The tiger continued to sit near the body after killing the man and fled into the forest after villagers spotted it and started screaming, Singh said.

After the incident, agitated villagers blocked the Sawai Madhopur-Kundera road.

Meanwhile, one tigress, T-84 (Arrow Head), has been spotted sick in Ranthambore and is suspected to be dead. “She is 10 years old and she was seen sick this morning. We suspect she might have died too. However, an official team has been sent to her to check her health and confirm the situation,” the officer said.